Routledge Revivals: Science as a Questioning Process (1996) Science as a Questioning Process (1996)

First published in 1996, Science as a Questioning Process evaluates scientific theories through from Darwinian evolution to relativity, and from quantum theory to cosmology. It offers an examination of these theories, in terms of a compromise between resolvable empirical questions, and theoretical questions left unresolved. The book asks questions that deal with both intellectual and public concern about what science tells us, and how reliable it is. Through this novel perspective, the book examines science in the context of everyday culture and the role it plays in everyday life. This book will be of interest to anyone working in the fields of philosophy, sociology and science.

1. Introduction 1.1. Presuppositions in science 1.2. Invariance 1.3. Causality 2. Theory construction 2.1. Hierarchies and networks 2.2. Questioning 2.3. Theory as a Relationship Between Questions 3. Graph Theory 3.1. Introduction 3.2. Terminology 3.3. Scientific Theories 3.4. The Right Questions? 3.5. Open-endedness of Questions 3.6. Acyclic Nature of Connections 4. Theory Evolution 4.1. Scientific Progress 4.2. Scientific Explanation 4.3. Theory Change and Comparison 4.4. Question Reformulation and ‘Black-Boxing’ 4.5. Demarcation Between Questions and Answers 5. Subjective Nature of Science 5.1. Cartesian View of Science 5.2. Translation from Observations and Concepts to Questions 5.3. Relation 5.4. Social Studies of Science 5.5. Scientometrics 6. Evolution and Intelligence 6.1. Evolution of Questioning Ability 6.2. Computer Simulation and Artificial Intelligence 6.3. Neural Nets 6.4. Curiosity 6.5. Structuralism 7. Theories and Questions 7.1. Quantum Mechanics 7.2. Relativity 7.3. Zetetic Analysis 8. Theories in the Making 8.1. Dark Matter 8.2. Anthropic Principle 8.3. Theory of Everything 9. Darwinian Evolution 9.1. Introduction 9.2. Darwin’s Theory 9.3. The Extended Phenotype 10. Literature and Science 10.1. Introduction 10.2. Fictional Entities 10.3. Scientific Entities 10.4. Fictional and Scientific Entities: A Comparison 10.5. Beauty 10.6. Scientific Metaphor 10.7. Explanation and Understanding 10.8. Interrogative Aspects of Literature 11. Epilogue